LSU's football team feeling better about the quarterback situation

BATON ROUGE -- It will be weeks before the LSU football team practices again, and weeks after that before the Tigers play a game that counts, so what was offensive coordinator Gary Crowton up to last week in the down time?

Chuck Cook / The Times-Picayune Archive One of LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's challenges this fall will be finding a way to work highly touted freshman quarterback Russell Shepard into the Tigers' game plan.

"I've been out on the road looking at quarterbacks, " he said, talking about the position with the detached professional tone one might use for real estate or a boat.

Crowton isn't allowed to talk about quarterback prospects by name until they sign a letter of intent with LSU, so whoever his long-term eye might covet remains unknown for now. But coming off the spring drills, he said he feels much better about the quarterbacks he has.

"QB-wise, we've now got two guys who have played -- and I felt like they both improved, " he said, speaking of sophomores Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, who are first and second on the depth chart. "I'm trying to develop Jordan in the passing game because he's young. With Jarrett, it's now a matter of teaching, so that he doesn't make mistakes.

"From a mobility standpoint, Jordan can do a lot more things -- but from a passing standpoint, they both have to develop."

That was perhaps the most significant question LSU had going into spring football. Overall, Crowton said he is pleased with the way spring went personnel-wise, although he said much schematic work remains to be done.

"From a scheme standpoint, we have some new wrinkles we're trying to put in place, " he said.

Crowton will begin his third year as offensive coordinator at LSU this fall. In his first season, the Tigers enjoyed the most productive offense in school history and won a national championship. LSU struggled with decidedly different personnel last season, although a sometimes cheesecloth defense was just as blameworthy or more for an 8-5 campaign.

In the end, LSU finished 43rd in rushing offense and 71st in passing in Division I. Overall, the Tigers were 55th nationally in offense, a precarious spot given they ranked behind four Southeastern Conference teams LSU will face this fall (in order, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and Arkansas).

LSU returns some proven first-class talent on offense -- Brandon LaFell at wide receiver and Ciron Black at tackle. Richard Dickson is a rock solid tight end; Charles Scott is coming off a year in which he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he still is battling to be chosen a starter.

Finally, Jefferson's play in the regular-season finale at Arkansas and in a Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over Georgia Tech were enormously encouraging signs for the Tigers faithful and coaching staff.

But LSU still has some concerns offensively. The team must find two new starters on the offensive line, including a center, and at least two flankers must step up to complement LaFell and give the passing attack more options.

Along the line, T-Bob Hebert, whose knee has responded from surgery even better than the staff had hoped, appears to have an edge for the starting job at center, although Crowton and Coach Les Miles have praised P.J. Lonergan there, too. Similarly, Josh Dworaczyk sits atop the depth chart at guard, although he is locked in a competition with Will Blackwell.

"On the line, I feel like we're two deep and have experience, so I feel good about that -- two deep is exactly where we wanted to be, " Crowton said.

At wideout, there seems little question the first of the second options will be Terrance Toliver, a junior. Crowton did single out the spring work of R.J. Jackson. A senior out of the Houston area, Jackson said the coaches approached him before spring practices began and urged him to make his final campaign a special one. Jackson said he took the advice to heart and is having more fun playing football than at any previous time at LSU.

Of course, those are all pieces Crowton knew he had when last season ended. The biggest newcomers slated to show up for preseason camp in August are quarterback Russell Shepard and wide receiver Rueben Randle.

Shepard has announced himself to some extent. Although the only flashes outside-program eyes were offered came in the spring game, that small window and the words of his teammates and coaches proclaim that Shepard has the speed and the on-field awareness of a major playmaker.

"It's nice to have that sort of athleticism at quarterback and for other plays, " Crowton said, treading carefully around one of the most pressing issues for LSU in 2009, namely, how will the Tigers get Shepard on the field?

"He's a guy who can bring you big plays, and we're trying to figure out where to play him, " Crowton said. "At this point, he's tremendously talented -- but he's sometimes outside the scheme. We have to figure out the where, when and how with him."

That is especially true if wide receiver Trindon Holliday does not turn professional in track. Because of track commitments, Holliday was available for only a smattering of spring practices -- an anticipated absence Crowton said the offensive brain trust took pains to address.

As for Randle, his first practices will come in August, but Crowton said the No. 1 recruit in Louisiana will be expected to put himself in the mix early.

"He's definitely an outstanding recruit, and we feel he'll compete right off, " Crowton said. "That's really why we were looking hard at four guys at receiver before Rueben gets here."

It is that sort of competition -- enticing for the fans, sometimes excruciating for the players -- that is the hallmark of the top programs, and Crowton said he is committed to it.

"We are where we are right now based on the practices we've already had -- the players who are already here have earned what they've got, and we respect that, " he said. "But this is LSU. We are going to recruit the best players, and we are going to make adjustments to get the best players on the field."

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James Varney can be reached at jvarney@timespicayune.com or 504.717.1156.